MacBook Air is the Computer of Choice in a Tribes Fight to Save the Amazon

Aug 31, 2011 - 9 Comments

MacBook Air in the Amazon with Chief Almir

The middle of the Amazon Rainforest is probably the last place you’d expect to see a brand new MacBook Air, but that’s exactly what Chief Almir of the Surui people is using in his fight to protect the Amazon. The internet, a partnership with Google, and Apple’s flagship ultraportable MacBook Air, have enabled the chief to track the tribes territory and report illegal logging of their homelands:

His partnership with Google, which began in 2007, has enabled the tribe to create an online “cultural map” of the Surui with stories from the tribe’s elders that are uploaded onto YouTube, as well as a geographical map of their territory created with GPS — equipped smartphones from Google. In 2009, Google employees taught the Surui to use cell phones to record illegal logging on their land. Tribal members can now take photos and videos that are geo-tagged and immediately upload the images to Google Earth. Law-enforcement officials can no longer claim ignorance of the problem when evidence of the deforestation is publicly available online.

You can see a great video below showing more Mac use in the jungle, and the full photo, which was taken by Ivan Kashinsky and used in the story on FastCompany about some of the most creative people in business for 2011.

I find this interesting and impressive for a number of reasons, but focusing on the Apple aspect, it’s remarkable in and of itself that a MacBook Air has ended up in the depths of the Amazon jungle, let alone in the midst of the immense tropical heat, moisture, and humidity, and has become a tribes computer of choice.


Spot the MacBook Air use!

MacBook Air in the Amazon

For those wondering, it looks like the 11.6″ MacBook Air model to me. Pretty unique Mac setup location, huh?

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Posted by: William Pearson in Mac Setups, News

9 Comments

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  1. Banj says:

    forget the Macbook Air, WTH! do they eat in the amazon???

  2. […] o OS X Daily, esse trabalho do Google é feito desde 2007. A empresa vem ajudando a tribo a criar o “mapa […]

  3. Jaiveer Mariwala says:

    This man looks like my wife ujval

  4. Helmuth van Es says:

    Fantastic especially the good cause the very good cause. Enough is enough with the destruction of our planet. Google go! I took my Macbook Pro 15″2009 to the Borneo jungle. No sweat, well no I was sweating like a pig of course :)

  5. Marcos says:

    Brazil is turning to Apple as fast as it develops but Apple don’t give a sh…t. We do not have a single Apple Store in the country. I hate Apple for that!

  6. Quality from Italy says:

    They are primitive: how do you can live on forest and choose a notebook expensive, with reflective screen, and low autonomy? You have trouble thinking.
    It was much better a netbook (es. Samsung NC210): Cheap, matte screen and long battery life.

  7. Great to see technology is being used this way. And Lol Mark, saw their website, lovely. Although I wonder how they pay this!

  8. […] X Daily reports on an amazing FastCompany story of how, using the internet, a research partnership with Google, and […]

  9. Mark says:

    Great use of technology for the greater good, here’s that tribes web site:

    http://www.aquaverde.org/

    They actually have some Mac OS X default wallpapers in their photo section.. heh

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